Taking advantage of available medicinal and herbal resources in Da Nang and neighboring localities, many establishments have researched and created quality, effective and safe products, thereby converting them into OCOP (One Commune - One Product) ones.

Hiyou Farm herbal soap is being introduced at a trade promotion fair in Da Nang. Photo: VAN HOANG

In 2023, the 'Hiyou Farm' scented candle made from natural herbal essences was one of the 26 products evaluated and recognised as the city's 4-star OCOP products.

Made by the Hai Chau District-based Central Vietnam Production Trading & Service Co., Ltd., the product is the first OCOP in the handicraft group in the district.

According to Ms. Luong Anh Thu, the founder of the Hiyou Farm of the company, the use of natural, safe and benign herbal products is increasingly becoming an important factor in the green and clean living trend of many people.

With the desire to help people who are allergic to chemicals have the opportunity to use quality, environmentally friendly health care and protection products, Ms. Thu has researched and devoted a lot of effort to research and create products derived from natural herbs such as scented candles, soap, shampoo, roll-on oil, and essential oils.

Ms. Thu informed that Da Nang, Quang Nam Province and other neighbouring localities were great sources of natural herbs with superior uses. Taking advantage of raw material areas to create natural, environmentally friendly and safe products not only helps protect health but also contributes to changing consumer habits and increasing value of herbs.

Consistent with that goal, natural products with the Hiyou Farm brand have won trust of many customers and potential markets. They are highly appreciated by many agencies, units and partners and are chosen to display at many major events and as gifts for many important customers.

It is known that the products are being distributed at the Central Souvenir supermarket system, Huong Da Supermarket, and a chain of Hai Tran stores at international airports nationwide; as well as approaching and conquering major partners such as Mega MM Market.

In particular, HiYou Farm herbal soap and scented candle products were recognised as typical rural industrial products of Da Nang in 2023. The scented candle product alone was recognised as a 4-star OCOP product in late March 2024.

This is a great advantage for the products to be promoted more strongly, bringing peace of mind to consumers and helping the company confidently develop more quality typical products for Da Nang.

Having many years of working with South Korean partners, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung, Director of the Adeva Noni Natural Products Co., Ltd, based in Cam Le District, realised that the market demand for products related to noni fruit is very large.

She decided to build a factory with a modern machinery system in Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District for production. Also, she worked with a cooperative in Dai Loc District, Quang Nam Province, to plant 0.5 hectares of noni trees.

Under the noni tree, some herbs such as mugwort, perilla, lolot leaves, lemongrass, and polyscias fruticosa are planted to create herbal compresses and herbal foot baths for spas.

During her recent trip to Thailand, Ms. Dung accidentally discovered a herbal toothpaste product chosen by many tourists as gifts. She noticed that ingredients such as noni, cinnamon, cloves, licorice, betel, and areca nuts were all available locally and in neighboring localities. Meanwhile, Da Nang has the advantage of being a tourist city, so Ms. Dung há coordinated with professional partners to jointly produce this product to serve customers.

To date, the company's herbal toothpaste has received positive feedback from consumers. Each month, her factory consumes 4-5 tonnes of fresh ingredients. About 5,000-10,000 products are sold on the market. She creates jobs for 8 regular and 3 seasonal workers.

To develop and promote products more widely, she has changed her approach to the market, promoting sales on e-commerce platforms and focusing on domestic customers. At the same time, she has participated in trade promotion and connection programmes, and annual fairs of Da Nang and other localities.

In 2023, the company's noni herbal shampoo and herbal bath water for babies, female hygiene solutions, and herbal soaps were certified as typical rural industrial products by the municipal People's Committee. Meanwhile, herbal toothpaste was recognized as 4-star OCOP product.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung shared "We look forward to expanding organically grown raw material areas, and developing experiential tourist destinations, thereby creating more typical products with Da Nang brand."

Reporting by VAN HOANG - Translating by M.DUNG